Andor, Paterson, and the Twitter question
Getting by and beyond, plus social media state of the union
Hello!
On this week’s episode of Criticism Is Dead, we discuss Andor and Paterson, a series and a film that hone in on the details of ordinary people’s lives.
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06:20 Andor, streaming on Disney+, is not just great Star Wars television — it’s great television, period.
Now this is how you build out an existing universe with something fresh, yet still intelligible, for both superfans and brand-new viewers. Mature yet thrilling, grounded yet exciting, Andor is truly Star Wars for adults. It zooms in on the finer details of how oppression, survival, and rebellion unfold in this galaxy. There are analogues to what we recognize in our own world as colonization, police brutality, mass surveillance, the prison–industrial complex, and the banality of evil. But there is real emotion, too, derived from the love that family and friends have for each other, the losses they undergo, and and the spirit it takes to fight even in apparently hopeless times. Andor might be the biggest surprise of 2022.
22:46 In Paterson, streaming on Amazon Prime Video, characters and viewers alike find art and beauty in everyday circumstances.
This 2016 film is quiet rather than loud, humble rather than bombshell. The conflict creeps up on you, in a way that I find unexpectedly impactful. The antagonist is a willfully disobedient dog, and the climax a typical dog-like misbehavior — small things, but as emotionally devastating as any act of destruction and loss in a more dramatic work. You grow to really feel for Paterson and Laura, and to care about their lives and their interiority and their respective creative pursuits. It’s the portrait of a working poet and the tenderness in his life, to warm effect.
35:53 Plus, culture notes about what comes after Twitter (if anything).
stfu…
Bonus stuff
Huge Severance s2 casting news.
Paul Mescal profile in the NYT.
Keith McNally’s NEW final FINAL word on James Corden.
Honestly, props to Ryan Condal:
For those who are watching The White Lotus s2…
CATE BLANCHETT ON HOT ONES!!!!!!
Some costumes:
And finally, here are some of the films that Pelin watched as part of her solo marathon (quality may vary):
Don’t Look Now (1973)
American Honey (2016)
Possessor (2020)
Nancy (2018)
Lady Macbeth (2016)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Working Girls (1986)
Border (2018)
Saloum (2021)
The Feast (2021)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
That’s it for now. We are off for the next two weeks, but we should be back on November 22!
— Jenny
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Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to criticismisdead@gmail.com.
Some credits:
Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu